


Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World

by Lazaria



Series: The Memoirs of Admiral Lockley [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Assassination Plot(s), BDSM, Badass Phasma, Boot Worship, Crait (Star Wars), Dom/sub, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Force Sex (Star Wars), Military Kink, Military Uniforms, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Multiple Orgasms, Office Sex, Porn, Porn With Plot, Power Dynamics, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex, Sexual Humor, Smut, Space Battles, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, Uniform Kink, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-05-28 11:08:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15047534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazaria/pseuds/Lazaria
Summary: Hux meets his match. Sex, violence, and a desperate need for world domination. Can it be love?Tales from the Uncensored Memoirs of Admiral Lockley: Volume I





	1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: The Uncensored Memoirs of Admiral Lockley are DEGENERATE and OFFICIALLY BANNED by FIRST ORDER HIGH COMMAND under Section ES-BT0000033819. Report all noncompliance and turn in your copies at once!**

 

To most officers, General Hux was a ruthless tyrant. Maybe there's truth in that. But to me, he was awfully fun. Let's just say we shared an addiction to extreme experiences.

Our fling is common knowledge by now. The whole depraved story is told and retold in every First Order barracks, down to the most graphic detail. Every recruit hears it. I'm sure you've seen the graffiti on the latrine walls (I recommend the drawings in Sub-Basement A7). Though these rumors are filthy, I'm proud to say that the truth is even filthier. We didn't do anything halfway. 

I met the General soon after graduating from the academy. I had a perfect record. That caught his attention. He transferred me to Starkiller Base, where I found him to be an excellent commanding officer. He had a sardonic quip for anyone who required corrective elimination, and there were many of these. He enjoyed performing the executions himself. His prowess in this area impressed me. I soon learned he had even greater prowess elsewhere.

Let me illustrate.

I reported to the General late one night and found him working in his office, sitting behind his desk with a smirk as I walked in.

"You wanted to see me, sir."

He flipped through a thick stack of paper. "My superiors have seen fit to give me your report. You've caught their attention. They insist that you be promoted."

I couldn't tell what he thought of the idea. Hux was often sarcastic about such things. Still, I knew he approved of my work. I had always been efficient. What did Hux love more than efficiency? Absolutely nothing, of course. He was half-seduced already.

"Thank you, sir."

He snorted. "Don't thank me. Our superiors make it a point to reward ambition."

"Yes, sir."

The General squared the papers and peered at me.

"Turn around," he said. "Full circle."

I turned a full circle.

"You're very precise."

"Yes, sir." I blushed. "Thank you, sir."

"The records say you visit the athletic facilities during off hours."

"Yes, sir."

"Why?"

"To keep in top fighting condition, sir."

"You work at a console."

"All personnel should keep in top fighting condition, sir. The First Order requires total commitment of mind and body."

Hux really did smile then. A genuine smile. I suspect most officers would have been terrified by it, but I felt something quite different: a warm, feminine fluttering, utterly unbecoming of a First Order Lieutenant.

He kicked back the chair and rose to his feet. Slowly he paced around to the front of the desk where I stood.

"What is it you really want?"

"To serve under your command, sir."

The blue eyes were coolly amused. "No, I don't think so. I think you, yourself, want to command. Don't you?"

I couldn't deny it. I wanted the world. I was hungry.

"You think you have what it takes?"

"Without question, sir."

He stepped closer. Straightening my posture, I struggled to remain still. He was much taller than me. His uniform, immaculately pressed, breathed a faint scent of clean starch. I jumped at the touch of his gloved fingers on my cheek.

"At ease," he murmured.

I risked an upward glance. His hair shone like flame in the dark; his eyes stared at me from pools of shadow. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, dangerous.

"You don't know the loneliness of this. To live one's life striving, knowing what must be done, and having the will to do it -- " a glove crackled as he clenched it in a fist -- "when no one else does. Living among lesser men. Constantly plagued by disorderly cowards who can't recognize the vision -- who have no grasp of the ideal. I am utterly alone. You don't know what it's like. Or do you?"

In that moment of confession he was vulnerable, and we both knew it. The thrill made me giddy.

"I know what it's like, sir. And I want more of it."

Hux exhaled and ran his fingers along my neck, admiring my regulation hairstyle, taking care to keep each hair in place. "You're such a beauty," he mused. "Such exquisite form."

I wanted him to destroy me. Humiliate me, kick me down the ranks -- or even -- but no, such things were not to be thought of, not by a good officer of the First Order.

"What's the matter?"

Suddenly nervous, I stammered. "Nothing, sir -- only -- the regulations -- "

Hux grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked it back. Cold fire blossomed in the back of my scalp. I gasped, blinded by the lights on the ceiling.

"Don't toy with me, Lieutenant."

"No, sir. Never."

"I can do what I like with you. Remember that."

"Yes, sir." Tears blurred the lights into a shiny smudge. The ache throbbed, but the warmth stampeding inside me overwhelmed it. His touch, this pain, was to become my own addiction.

"What would you like me to do with you? Hmm?"

"Sir? Ahh!" I cried out as he pulled my hair again.

"Command me. Name it, and I'll do it."

I felt him loosening my bun, felt the rough texture of fingertips gliding down the nape of my neck. His eyes glittered. His lips were parted a little, expectant. I shivered as he spoke into my ear, his breath crisp on my skin.

"Name your pleasure, Lieutenant. That's an order."

My pulse raced. "I've been insubordinate, sir. An insubordinate officer must be disciplined."

Hux smiled and took off his gloves. "So. They were right about you, then. I'm impressed."

"Punishment is the foundation of order, sir, isn't it?"

"Mm," he chuckled. "Careful, Lieutenant. Don't be too charming, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Crossing to the desk, Hux took out a pair of restraints and bound my hands. A flexible telescoping rod leaned against the chair. This he took and snapped it out with a brisk, deliriously sexy gesture, extending it to its full length.

A light on the door buzzed.

Hux hesitated for a moment, then reached over and pressed the speaker button. "What is it?"

"Lord Ren outside, sir. He demands an audience."

"It'll have to wait."

"He's asking what the delay is, sir."

Hux clenched his teeth. "This is a high command briefing and none of his concern. The order comes straight from the top. It requires my undivided attention." He paused for a moment, and his eyes flicked to me. He pressed the buzzer again. "Tell Ren that this will be a recurring appointment."

"Who shall I say gave the order, sir?"

"I don't care, damn you! Get rid of him!"

"But -- "

"Remind me to execute you for gross incompetence," Hux snapped. The speaker buzzed off. "Fools," he muttered. "And Kylo Ren, that sniveling infant. I'll kill him myself one of these days."

"I'd like to watch that."

"I'll obliterate him with my own hands if I have to."

"You're wonderful when you're angry, sir."

Suicidal banter. I could tell he liked it. "Silly girl. You've no idea what I'm capable of."

His boot pushed me down to the ground. I knelt awkwardly, bent over, the sole hard against my spine. The rod whistled through the air and stung when it hit. I gasped. Fireworks burst deep in my gut. My mind spun with the words I'd heard. High command. Recurring appointments. Could I be so lucky?

"Thank you, sir," I whispered.

It came again, four, five times, numbing my back. I could hear him breathing harder. He dragged me back and pulled my arms over my head. Kneeling, he unbuttoned my collar and slid his fingers into my blouse. "Don't thank me," he said. "Don't be like them. Groveling. Wheedling after promotions. You're not like them. We're not like them. We earned this. We've no one to thank but ourselves. If there's anything you can give me, Abigail, give me this. Be my equal. Show me perfection."

His voice, tender and cold, commanding and begging at the same time, set off a jolt of electricity that shook me to the core. My breath became ragged. I felt like I'd known him for years. I moved towards him, and he caught me in a searing kiss. Black spots danced around my vision. The force of it made me dizzy.

Hux removed the restraints from my wrists. I rubbed the raw flesh. He stood and stepped back, smoothing his hair. Even then I could see he was fighting himself, control battling with desire.

"Take off your uniform."

I obeyed. He watched silently as I undid the buttons of my jacket, slipped down the pants, slipped off the boots. He's testing himself, I realized. Testing the limits of his own discipline.

I put the bundle of clothes on the floor. The rod whacked at my hands.

"Fold it," he ordered.

I folded the uniform neatly and lined it up against the wall. The air lapped cold against my bare skin. I shivered.

Hux's expression had sharpened into a naked hunger. He traced the rod up my torso. "Fighting condition. My God, you're magnificent."

"General."

"Yes."

A beat of quiet passed. The air hummed.

"Hold still."

I crawled to him on all fours and ran my tongue up the slick leather of his boots, tasting polish. I slid my hands up his legs, massaging powerful muscles. He shuddered when I reached his groin and inhaled sharply through his nose. He couldn't give up control, yet he never wanted anything so much, I was sure of it. Taut as a steel cord pulled too tight.

A good officer obeys. But a great officer takes risks.

I raised a hand to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes as I plunged my fingers through his hair, ruffling it out of shape. Then, I pulled my hand back, took a deep breath -- and slapped him.

He caught my wrist and twisted it, almost breaking the joint. I yelped. But his eyes begged me for more.

"Again," he whispered.

I let him have another.

His pale cheeks flushed. "Harder."

I'm no weakling. The sting made him cough. He blinked at me, astonished, breathless. I was doing very well.

"Tell me, Lieutenant. What's the punishment for striking a superior officer?"

I can, and will, quote the manual if asked. "Death, sir. Regulation 8327, Section XI, Paragraph J-72, Sub-Paragraph -- "

He pulled me close. "What manner of death would you choose?"

I grabbed his collar and kissed him.

He threw me down and pounced, shoving his palm against my mouth and cruelly pushing my head back against the hard floor. I tasted salt. He began to unbutton his uniform shirt, got impatient, tore it off. His tongue ran down me like a hot coal. Sensations began to blur. The metal grating cut at my skin. We grappled to be on top. I undid his belt; he whipped it off and cracked it taut against my breasts. His bare chest was slick, sculpted. He rammed his fingers into my cunt, plunging me into delirium. Teeth slashed my shoulder. When he shoved himself inside, the surge almost put me over the edge. His cock hammered me like a pile-driver. I think I was screaming, but who knows. He stuffed his fingers down my throat, choking me on my juices. I bit down and felt him harden. A trickle of hot blood slid down my ribs. I smelled copper and mint.

A shockwave crested deep in my gut. I dripped with every fluid imaginable. It went on and on till I was numb and aching, a punishing length of time, and I saw him about to explode, crushing me, pulling hard with his mouth against my tits. The orgasm hit me with the force of a sledgehammer. I screamed and writhed, thighs drenched, hips abrading on steel. Hux discharged an instant later, throwing his head back with an animal shout and shooting a violent flood of cum that overflowed sticky and hot onto the floor. I tried to extricate myself. He pressed me down.

"No," he panted. "Not a chance. You're not finished yet, my darling."

Hux's eyes were feral. He was drunk with lust. The only other time I saw him look this way was when he fired the Superweapon, and that was nothing compared to this.

A hard kiss ripped breath from my lips. I fought for air. Limp, motor functions shattered, I opened wide for him, feebly struggling as he tore at me in a savage frenzy.

"That's it," he hissed, eyes bright. "You little slut. You'll come again. You don't have a choice, you're too well-made. My perfect -- little -- slut."

He was right. I had no choice. He sent me over the top a second time, and a third. I began to black out from the pleasure. The fourth time he pulled me over the peak, he hit it too, thrusting and shuddering with full force, impaling so deep I felt a stab of pain. He collapsed, shaking and feverish. I slipped out of consciousness.

It was a long time before either of us got up again.

When we did get up, we were efficient. Very. We dressed and faced each other in uniform. Hux smoothed over his copper hair, his face ashen, a tired smile playing about his lips.

"Well. Satisfied?"

I laughed. My voice was hoarse. "You're the only man who's ever satisfied me."

"I believe that." He traced the line of my chin. "I assure you it's mutual. You'll come back, I hope?"

"Is that an order?"

"Of course."

I saluted and limped out of the office. He pretended to turn back to his paperwork, but watched me from the corner of his eye. By the time I reached my quarters, I already wanted more.

That was just the beginning.


	2. Attack on Starkiller Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Lockley make a date to destroy the Resistance's last holdout, but their plans are foiled by the attack on Starkiller Base.

**From the Memoirs of Admiral Lockley: Chapter 2**  
  
  
The ensign's eyes were huge with fear. “Lieutenant, forgive me. I didn't –”  
  
“This weapons upgrade should have been installed a day ago.” I tapped the screen. “A full day.”  
  
“Yes, Lieutenant. The codes got mixed up and –”  
  
“What’s you’re name?”  
  
“B – Byres,” he stuttered. “Ensign Byres, serial number five oh eight two – “  
  
I grabbed his collar and pulled him out of his chair. He was very young. Just a boy, really. I skewered him with a silent stare and he shook like a leaf. His colleagues bent to their consoles.  
  
“This is unacceptable. Was anyone else involved?”  
  
Byres threw a terrified glance around him. No one looked up. “I -- I take full responsibility.”  
  
“Good. Let’s talk.”  
  
I yanked him into the corridor above the console pit, making sure to keep in full view so everyone could see. In the First Order, we call this motivating the troops.  
  
“Pathetic." I slapped him. "This work requires top performance. No stupid mistakes. Am I clear?”  
  
Byers cowered on the shiny black floor at my feet. “Yes, Lieutenant.”  
  
“You admit you’re pathetic?"  
  
“Yes, Lieutenant.”  
  
"You're unfit for duty?"  
  
"Yes, Lieutenant."  
  
"You're a worthless piece of filth. Correct?"  
  
"Yes, Lieutenant -- ow!"  
  
I kicked him in the ribs and pulled his left arm backwards, pressing down on the shoulder joint. The boy yelped like a rodent.  
  
“Take care it doesn’t happen again," I sneered.  
  
He went hobbling away. I brushed off my uniform. As I turned to go, I noticed a trim, dark figure watching from the corridor.  
  
The blue eyes sparkled. “My compliments.”  
  
We'd been apart for days. Our responsibilities left no time to socialize. But I needed him, and I thought about little else. We caught occasional glimpses of each other across dark hallways and spent the rest of our time chasing each other's shadows like drug addicts, hoping for just one look, just one fix. Our chemistry must have been obvious. The attraction was simply too strong to hide. Not that we cared, of course. Hux could snap his fingers and have just about anyone summarily executed. If he caught his men snickering behind his back, they soon disappeared.  
  
We did enjoy our little flirtations. For example, I often roughed up my subordinates in front of him. Hux would circle like a vulture drawn to the scene. He loved to watch me punish them. I could see that the tussle with Ensign Byers had him hot and bothered.  
  
"If only the rest of these imbeciles had your spirit." Hux smiled. "We'd have crushed the Resistance already."  
  
"I'll destroy the Resistance myself if I have to, sir. Don't worry."  
  
People tend to think that General Hux was a petty bureaucrat without much depth of character. I can tell you from firsthand experience that this is a myth, likely spread by his enemies to weaken his influence. Hux was a man of strong feeling and ambition. He was competent, and should have had far more power than he did. Kylo Ren was mostly to blame. Hux and I shared a common frustration with the situation. We were kindred spirits in every way. It was hard to resist ripping each other to shreds. If he could have taken me on the floor right then and there, he would have done it.  
  
“Walk with me, Lieutenant.”  
  
We paced down the corridor.  
  
“The Superweapon is scheduled to fire on a Resistance outpost tonight, as soon as it's recharged. I’ve arranged it personally.”  
  
“Excellent, sir.”  
  
“I was wondering if you'd care to join me.”  
  
He folded his hands behind his back. We kept the proper distance, but the way he looked at me was beautifully obscene.  
  
I gave him a mischievous side-eye. "A date, General?"  
  
“You’re trained in heavy artillery.” Hux took a step closer. “Perhaps you'd like to fire it yourself.”  
  
“A whole planet?”  
  
“A whole star system.”  
  
All of the Superweapon's destructive power right there at my fingertips. I found myself salivating.  
  
“Come now, Lieutenant. Must I pull rank?”  
  
"Will it be private?"  
  
"Just you and I."  
  
"Then it really is a date."  
  
"If you like."  
  
Oh, God. What would I do until then? "Night is still hours away, General."  
  
"I trust you have the self-discipline to wait."  
  
That smirk slew me. "Very well, I accept."  
  
"Splendid. Report to the control room at 2200 hours."  
  
We parted ways.  
  
But we never got the chance to have our fun. By 2200 hours, Starkiller Base was in pieces and Hux and I had barely escaped with our lives.

  
  
\---

  
  
The attack came as the sun darkened. A siren flared red on the upper level as the fighters swerved past; I could see them doubling back for another pass.  
  
"No." Hux snarled. "No, not yet, damn them!"  
  
He strode onto the upper deck and along the viewports, staring savagely out at the sky.  
  
Voices rang below. "Incoming fighters at 2-2-1-7."  
  
"Shields are down."  
  
"Use the cannons!" Hux shouted. "Dispatch all squadrons!"  
  
I rushed up from my post just in time to catch his arm as he whisked past. He looked worried. Around us, the base was becoming chaotic. Men rushed by; blasts shook the floor.  
  
Breaking protocol, Hux snatched my hand and pulled me close. "Don't you dare get hurt. That's an order."  
  
"General, wait!"  
  
But he was gone. I didn't see him again until the battle was over.  
  
I remember the battle as a a series of images: laser blasts, red flame, explosions of sparks, officers crushed at their posts, walls crumbling onto our heads. Everything was a blur. Late in the fight, a blast hit me in the ribs and knocked me to the floor. The wound bled out in a dark warm pool. I fought to stay conscious.

As the sounds of battle receded, a different sound rose: a dull roaring, the bursting of something huge. Steal beams ripped and squealed. I felt the ground thundering. Around me, the control room lay in crackling wreckage. Blue lights guttered. Someone shouted. A silhouette appeared in the doorway. I propped myself up on a beam, and drew my blaster.

I was about to fire when I saw who it was.  
  
Hux knelt to clear away the debris. When he noticed the wet, dark blotch bleeding through my tunic, he cursed and took off his overcoat, pressing it against the wound. His hand cradled my cheek; his voice drew tight with concern. "Abigail. Is it bad? Can you walk?"  
  
I grimaced. The pain had gotten worse. I tried to lever myself up on one arm, but only made it to a sitting position before a broken bone stabbed inside my torso.  
  
"Stop," Hux commanded. "Lie still."  
  
"I can do it," I gasped.  
  
"No, you can't. Stop. Don't move. We're getting out of here alive, both of us." He scooped me up and lifted me from the rubble. I felt the rough fabric of his uniform against my cheek. The ceiling spun. Nauseated, I closed my eyes and fell into dreamless sleep.

  
  
\--

  
  
Consciousness returned in a bright white light. I blinked and squinted.

"Hello?"

Tubes and gauze clung to my midriff. I tried to sit up, but my body was too stiff to move.

A young female in a medic's uniform popped her head in through the door. "Lieutenant! How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like hell," I grumbled. "Where's Hux?"  
  
"I'll let him know you're awake. He'll be pleased, he's been quite concerned about you."  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that the General and I share an unauthorized relationship?"  
  
"Of course not, Lieutenant, how foolish of me. I'll get him."  
  
Hux appeared at the door of the sick bay. His appearance was shocking: uniform torn, face drawn and drained of all energy and color, eyes hollow from lack of sleep. The door hissed shut, leaving us alone. There was a long silence.

"General," I croaked. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Don't talk too much."

"What happened?"

"Do you realize how close it was? You easily might have died." The General spat the words, crossing to the bedside with crisp steps and seizing my face in both hands, smoothing my tangled hair. "Those Resistance scum. If they'd taken you from me. My beautiful Lockley -- "  
  
"I'll be fine, sir. Where are we?"  
  
"With the fleet. Safe."  
  
"The base?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
An angry tear slipped from my eye. The General brushed it away with impatience. "No tears," he said. "Never. I won't have you unhappy. We'll destroy them yet."  
  
"Yes, sir." Something occurred to me, and I frowned. "You carried me all the way out to the ship?"  
  
Hux nodded. His hands grasped mine in an iron grip.  
  
"You risked your life for an inferior officer." I grinned weakly. "That's against regulations."  
  
"Nonsense. You're a valuable asset. I couldn't allow the First Order to lose you. A purely strategic decision."  
  
I laughed, and winced as the laugh set off the pain in my side.  
  
Hux caressed my hair. "Rest," he said. "I need you in fighting shape. I expect your best performance. You promised to destroy the Resistance singlehandedly, if I recall."  
  
"And you promised me an evening of total annihilation. Don't forget."  
  
"No, I couldn't possibly forget," the General said softly. He ran his fingers over my lips. "You and I are going to have far too much fun."

"And my promotion?"

"I haven't forgotten that, either." He slipped his fingers into my mouth. "You'll have to show me what else you can do."

"We'll bring them to their knees," I whispered. "They'll beg for your mercy by the end. For what they've done. The Resistance will bleed at your feet, General. I swear it."  
  
Hux sighed. "You really are perfect."

He kissed me deeply, pressing me into the cot until my ribs ached and I gasped for breath, his lips precise and hard and hot. It was quite the kiss. When he pulled back he glared at me with a pale hunger, a love so strong it was almost hate. It filled me with a lust for blood, for death, for wild darkness. I felt a little unhinged.  
  
"Now get better. Immediately."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
He smiled and walked out. I slept and dreamed of vast armies, red banners, and the remorseless blue of his eyes.


	3. Interrogation Techniques

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux suspects Lockley of plotting against him, and the interrogation gets interesting.

A blue-green light flooded the room. I lay shackled in the chair, metal restraints hard and cool against my exposed skin.

"Well, Lieutenant. Shall we begin?"

I was here of my own volition, more or less. Hux hadn't wasted any time getting back in touch. As soon as my wound had healed, he'd sent the message:

 

_Lockley,_

_If you think you deserve that promotion, prove it. Meet me at 0600 hours outside Interrogation Chamber C-05._  
_Be ready._

 _Yours,_  
_H_

 

At 0559 hours, just before dawn, I stood outside in the bare corridor. I heard an echo of footsteps. Boot heels clicked with casual arrogance along the walkway, and my pulse began to race. I fought to remain professional.

He was devastating. The way he stood with perfect posture, the sharp angles of his face catching the shadows, the clean black of his uniform stark against the light. And the way he examined me, so coldly. Like a stranger. Icy tendrils of lust seeped into my gut. After weeks in the sick bay, I wanted his full attention. I didn't want love. I craved his harshest treatment.

"I've looked over your file. You meet the preliminary conditions for promotion. But I have some conditions of my own."

"Understood."

"Get on your knees."

I sank to the floor.

"I've enjoyed our little dalliance, Lieutenant. But you haven't been fully honest with me." Hux drew his blaster and pressed the cold muzzle against my cheek. "I think you have your own agenda."

He shoved the barrel inward, bruising my cheekbone.

"Tell me your ambitions. Why the seduction? Are you after my command?"

"No, sir!"

"Don't lie." He traced the blaster along my jaw. "It's so obvious."

I lifted the muzzle and slipped it into my mouth, tasting its cold steel length. "Even if it's true, wouldn't you enjoy the challenge?"

"Hmm." The General's lips curled into something between a sneer and a smile. He forced the gun further into my mouth, making me gag. "You're very good. But you're playing a dangerous game."

"I like dangerous games."

"Be careful what you wish for, my darling."

"I'm telling the truth, sir."

"Well." Hux took a small black pouch from his pocket. "We'll soon find out."

It was fast. I didn't even see the needle. A quick sting in the arm -- and everything came apart into blurry liquid.

I woke up strapped to the chair, unclothed, helpless. I couldn't move my arms or legs. A strap across my forehead forced me into a stiff and uncomfortable position. The General stood close -- painfully close.

"I've injected you with a control drug, commonly used in interrogations." Hux traced a fingertip over my brow and flicked a bright light into my eyes, checking my pupils. "The serum has a paralytic effect. You won't be able to move any major muscles, but you will be able to speak and feel. In fact, your sensations will be more powerful than normal. I know you'll enjoy that."

I tried to say something, but I couldn't form the words.

"This interrogation has a dual purpose. First, to allay my suspicions. Second, to test you for high command. I'm curious about your capabilities. This machine can be lethal. Do you think you can last?"

"Try me."

"That's my girl."

A silent current coursed through my body. I gritted my teeth and squirmed. My fingers grappled against metal, numb and distant, as if my hands belonged to someone else. The General adjusted a dial and the electric grip released me, throwing me back, panting and covered in sweat.

"What level was that?" I gasped.

Hux took off a glove with his mouth, one finger at a time, and slapped me across the cheek with it.

"Wait -- mff!"

He stuffed the glove into my mouth. I tasted dry leather. Running a finger down the center line of my torso, he drew a trail of perspiration. I felt him clamp cold metal claws onto the sensitive tissue of my breasts and shivered with nausea. Twin threads of electricity ran down and blossomed in a tight halo of warmth inside me. The General's eyes were predatory, his voice sharp.

"Let me be quite clear," he said. "I want you limp and broken. I want your mind, your body, your spirit. Every last part of you. And I'll get it."

His hand lingered just over my face, so close I could almost feel it, ready to bruise or choke or touch at a whim. My innards throbbed.

"Mmmhrfhfnnn," I muttered through the mouthful of glove.

Hux laughed. "You're much better with something stuffed into your mouth."

The silent force pulsed up to its previous level and past it. Far past. I braced myself against the shock. Bolts of pain surged up my thighs and down from each nipple, tangling deep inside. Nerves tightened like a vise. Pain stabbed everywhere and melted into pleasure. My eyes snapped wide open. A strangled cry escaped my lips.

Hux brushed a strand of hair back from my face. "Look at you," he murmured. "You like it, don't you. Of course you do. My hungry little bitch." Playfully he slid his hand between my legs, testing the slickness of the gap between them. I almost choked on the sensation. My eyes watered. He rammed his fingers up into me, gripping me inside and out. I whimpered, and his eyes grew large with delight.

"Can you take more?"

I pleaded in silence. But Hux knew I meant yes.

The next few minutes almost killed me. As he slid the dial up to maximum, the hair on the back of my neck pricked upward and all my muscles contracted to the point of agony. I screamed. He shoved his hand into my wetness, pressing against the tender spots until they ached and throbbed. The pressure slammed against the back of my eyes, exploding in my sinuses, building to such a height that I began to fear the oncoming release just as much as I wanted it.

Delicately, Hux removed the glove from my mouth.

"Had enough?"

"Please," I sobbed. "Oh, God . . . let me have it!"

With a quick motion of his fingers, he threw me over the edge. It lasted a dangerous length of time. When I came back down, eons later, I was shaking uncontrollably, shivering with fever and chills, bathed in sweat, weak and limp and sore. The General gave me no time to recover. He snapped the restraints loose and I slumped to the floor. He seized my chin in his long fingers and dragged me up to my knees.

"Now tell me the truth!" Hux was out of breath. "What are you after?"

The words tumbled out. "I don't want some pathetic little promotion," I rasped. "I want the Navy. Make me Admiral. I'll help you kill him."

That caught him by surprise. He stared at me with new interest. "Who?"

"Kylo Ren. Snoke, too. I'll help you eliminate them both. Then all this will belong to you."

A dead silence fell. It was treason, but I knew what Hux wanted most.

And I knew I had him.

"Oh, you gorgeous creature." He looked away. His voice ached. "I shouldn't let you talk. I shouldn't let you live. You're too dangerous."

"Armitage, listen." I gazed up at him with lashes fluttering, barely able to talk, pawing at his jackboots. I knew how appealing I must look to him like this, naked on my knees, ragged and ravished and weak as a kitten. "All this is beneath you. You should be Supreme Leader. Let me help you. I'll be your weapon and your slave. I'll be anything you want."

He ran an admiring finger down the bridge of my nose and over my swollen lips. "That kind of talk will get us both killed."

"What's the matter? Afraid?"

He tipped my chin up with a finger and searched my eyes. "Don't tease."

I reached a trembling hand up and grasped the hard bulge at his crotch, drawing my fingers around it, working the fly open so that I could take the glistening length of his cock into my mouth. Hux let his head fall back with a low, purring moan. He gripped the back of my head and forced me into him so that his steely length jammed against the back of my throat. I coughed, dizzy. I'd lost too many fluids. I was in no condition to be doing this. But as everyone in the First Order knows, Abigail Lockley is no quitter. I wanted to choke on him.

I got my wish. By the time he burst in my mouth, my lips had lost all sensation. Hot spurts caught in my throat and dripped down my chin, mixing with blood from the little abrasions along my throat. Hux sighed deeply and closed his eyes. With a long, slow shudder, he pulled free and leaned against the chair for support.

I coughed. "Well?"

The General slicked his tousled ginger hair away from his face. "You're quite convincing."

"Then we're agreed."

"I'll consider it." Hux tossed me a towel from a drawer beneath the bench. "Clean yourself up. You're in no shape for duty."

I tried to stand, but he pushed me back down on my haunches as he walked past. "How long do I have?"

"Five minutes," Hux called over his shoulder. "See that you're on time."

The door hissed shut behind him. I stared for about ten seconds and fantasized about slapping him senseless. Then I ran for the showers.


	4. Caught in the Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lockley tries to assassinate Kylo Ren, but Phasma intercepts her on the way to his quarters . . .

Kylo Ren's flagship had some interesting design elements. Yes, there were security cameras, but they could be fooled. You just had to angle them right. I'd spent most of the afternoon working out the geometry of it. Thirty degrees here, a hundred degrees there, and bingo: you had a series of blind spots all the way down the corridor leading to Kylo Ren's personal quarters. Set a timer for midnight, splice in some misleading footage . . . nothing to it.  
  
Or so I thought. In practice, the assassination turned out to be a bit more complicated than expected. Let's just say there were some human factors I hadn't counted on.  
  
I crept down the corridor, sliding along the walls. It was late, but I was focused. The placement of my steps had to be precise. An ambient electronic hum covered my footsteps: distant sounds of the ship at midnight. The hallway seemed deserted. So when I felt the cold pressure of a blaster against my neck, I jumped.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
I recognized the low and potent female voice. My heart pounded. "Just, um, testing the security components. Routine procedure."  
  
"Under whose authority?"  
  
"Kylo Ren's."  
  
Phasma laughed. "I doubt it. Turn around. Hands up."  
  
I turned, slowly, and raised my hands. The Captain wore a simple cloak and no armor, but she still stood about a foot taller than me.  
  
"I know who you are," she said. "You're that Lieutenant from Starkiller Base. Hux's bitch."  
  
"I'm no one's bitch," I growled.  
  
Phasma shoved the blaster up beneath my chin. "What are you really doing here, Lieutenant?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing."  
  
"Beg your pardon?"  
  
I felt a droplet of sweat course down my temple. This was either an inspired risk, or colossally stupid. Well, too late to back down now. "What brings a Stormtrooper Captain to Lord Ren's quarters at midnight? Out of uniform, no less. I can think of one thing."  
  
Phasma leaned forward so that her face was right up in mine. "I don't like what you're implying."  
  
"So what are you going to do? Shoot me?"  
  
"I might."  
  
"Go ahead! See what Hux thinks of you then. He's been dying to get his hands dirty. He is your commanding officer, remember."  
  
Her eyes went cold. "You little piece of filth," she sneered. "I won't let you blackmail me."  
  
"Then let me go. I'll pretend this never happened." I tried to keep my voice firm. It was tough. My palms were pools of sweat. At the same time, I was amazed by the whole situation. Captain Phasma and Kylo Ren in an illicit affair. Who'd have guessed? This was valuable information indeed.  
  
While Phasma was thinking, a door down the corridor swished open and a dark-cloaked figure emerged into the half-light.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
Kylo Ren walked towards us. He stared darkly at me, without blinking.  
  
"Lord Ren." I cleared my throat. "Excuse me. I was just leaving . . ."  
  
"No, I don't think so."  
  
An invisible hand grabbed me and held me in place. I struggled against the air.  
  
"Does she know?"  
  
The Captain nodded.  
  
"Wait a minute." Ren approached, holding me firmly with one hand outstretched, manipulating the force in tightening tendrils around my throat. "You're Lieutenant Lockley. I've heard of you. You've got quite the reputation. Is it true about you and General Hux?"  
  
"No comment," I muttered.  
  
"He does seem more tired than usual these days." Kylo Ren turned my face to the light. "She's not unattractive."  
  
"Can't we get rid of her?" Phasma interrupted. I was in survival mode, limp in Kylo Ren's invisible grasp, melting into it with relish. I stared straight into his eyes.  
  
"We could," said Kylo Ren. "But I've got a different idea."  
  
He moved his fingers in the air. A tingling tentacle of force probed into my skull, wrapping around my brain like cold pins-and-needles, pressing inward in a mesh of ice. I shuddered. The pleasure response came with the discomfort, as it always did, and I felt Kylo Ren smile grimly through the bridge that connected us.  
  
"Ah," he murmured. "Now I see the appeal. You're a true masochist. That's quite rare. No wonder you two get along so well. But what else is going on, I wonder?"  
  
He explored the curves of my mind as I gritted my teeth, trying to fight him. A sudden blade of agony pierced my skull. I shouted in pain.  
  
"I see what you're planning. You won't succeed."  
  
"Lord Ren," I panted. "Forget all of that. You know what I really want -- agghh!"  
  
He threw me to the floor. I sprawled and writhed, gripping my head, vision blurring under the strain. Phasma's steel-toed boot stung my ribs.  
  
"Shall I execute her, Kylo?"  
  
The force-mesh released me and I felt a wash of relief. Looking up, I saw Kylo Ren watching me from above, his face expressionless.  
  
"No," he said. "She has a certain something. We can use her."  
  
"She's not loyal to you. You're taking an unnecessary risk in keeping her alive."  
  
"There's no risk at all," Kylo Ren retorted. "She's nothing. I could control her like a puppet if I wanted to." He curled a whip of force-energy around my waist. "Isn't that so, Lieutenant."  
  
"This girl's got her hooks in you already! You fool. Can't you see you're being manipulated?" Phasma hissed.  
  
The force-touch left me and hit Phasma with a low blow. She reeled back, tearing at her throat.  
  
"Shut up!" he yelled. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Don't argue with me again."  
  
He released Phasma, turned, and disappeared into his quarters. As soon as he was gone, the Stormtrooper Captain lunged on me and bashed my head against the floor. Her eyes gleamed with glacial rage.  
  
"I know what you're up to," she snarled. "You're going in the detention block tonight. I don't care what the brat says."  
  
She pulled me up by the back of my collar and dragged me down the hall. My head throbbed. I was in for a beating, and there was nothing I could do about it.  
  
\---  
  
Several hours later, I lay broken in the detention cell, bruised and bloody. Phasma had stepped outside. I licked the coppery swelling of my lip. Someone was screaming hysterically in the corridor, hurling invectives at the Captain. I recognized his voice, and smiled to myself.  
  
"How dare you?! Who authorized this?"  
  
"Why the concern, General? What's so special about this one?"  
  
"Lieutenant Lockley is an exceptional officer and a valued asset to the First Order! She's not to be harmed! I won't have it!"  
  
"Oh, calm down. She'll live. Probably."  
  
"You _cretin!_ I'll have your head on a stake!"  
  
There was more yelling, most of which I couldn't make out, and sounds of a struggle. A few moments later Hux appeared outside the forcefield of my cell with the early bruising of a black eye, hair tousled and breathing fast.  
  
"My hero." I coughed a mouthful of blood into my hand. "What took you so long?"  
  
"Damn it, Abigail." Hux peered at me, pacing back and forth across the forcefield in agitation. "What have they done to you? What happened?"  
  
"Never mind that. Just get me out of here."  
  
"I'll kill them. Believe me I will."  
  
"We need to talk." I shot him a look. "Not here."  
  
He pressed a hand against the invisible wall that locked me in and whispered softy across the field. "If I let you out now, they'll suspect something. Can you wait until morning?"  
  
"Fine, but -- "  
  
Hux stood abruptly as Phasma came around the corner. "I don't condone this kind of treatment, Captain. I'll expect a full report on the incident."  
  
"I'll see that you receive it," Phasma replied coldly.  
  
The General brushed past her with a stare of total contempt. If looks could kill. I watched him go, admiring his brisk stride.  
  
Phasma glanced down at me. "What are you so pleased about?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"I've got my eye on you, Lieutenant."  
  
She went off in the other direction. I slumped back into my cell to wait out the night.


	5. A Force to be Reckoned With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Public sex under Kylo Ren's personal TIE fighter can be hazardous to your health. But it's also worth it.

The hangar lay cool and deserted. Filtered air filled the cavernous space with the clean scent of metal and fuel, coolant, synthetic oil. I enjoyed patrolling here late on my shift. A vast honeycomb of black glass and bright steel, silent except for a distant electronic buzz, TIE fighters resting like drones against the walls, towering overhead, viewports dark, waiting.  
  
We were after the Resistance fleet. The fighters had to be maintained in perfect readiness. As I walked the lanes beneath their massive panels, checking gauges and levels, I let my fingers run along their smooth surfaces. Spotless as a cleanroom. Not a speck of dust anywhere. Yes, we would be ready.  
  
Kylo Ren's personal fighter was the last in the row. This one required particular care. I ducked underneath it and plugged the maintenance devices into the ports on the hull, taking readings and adjusting levels. Machinery purred above me. The vibrations must have cloaked his footsteps, because I didn't hear him until he was on me.  
  
"Armitage -- what -- "  
  
Hux shoved me up against the pylon with a kiss that set the scaffolds rattling. Angles of his face cut pale lines against the red gloom. The pupils of his eyes gaped large and black. He went for the buttons of my uniform, opening the tunic and pulling it back so my arms caught in it like a straitjacket.  
  
I pulled away. "What are you doing? Anyone could see us."  
  
"You know I don't care." His breath seethed warm and close against my exposed throat. "You're mine. I want you now, and I'll have you now. Right here on the floor. In front of the whole First Order, if necessary."  
  
His voice, quiet with energetic menace, melted my insides into a hot pool of need. There was no question of fighting it. "Kylo Ren knows we tried to kill him," I whispered. "He suspects something between us. If he sees -- "  
  
His hand cupped over my mouth, tipping my head back against the cool metal. "I told you, I don't care. I really don't."  
  
"We should be more careful, sir."  
  
"All this, and you still call me 'sir.'" He smiled a glittering smile. "I do enjoy that."  
  
The smile was contagious. "Well, sir, I've been exceptionally trained."  
  
"Of course." He undid the buckle of my trousers, roughly yanking the fabric down so that I felt the shock of cold steel against bare skin. One hand explored in between my legs, admiring the wetness there, while his other hand circled the nape of my neck. "Ready as ever, I see."  
  
A surge of heat ripped through me, and I stifled a sigh. Sounds echoed in this great dark space. But how could I possibly keep quiet? "Armitage, please. Not here -- "  
  
He was brutally direct. Lifting me by the hips, he jammed me up against the wing. "Yes, here. Right next to Kylo Ren's precious fighter." His eyes shone with dangerous glee. "Let's make a mess of it."  
  
I bit down on the rough fabric at his shoulder as Hux thrust into me with sudden violence, forcing my back up against the wing with powerful strokes, filling the aching void. I needed every long inch of him. I tried desperately not to make any noise. Short, chopped breaths. I bit my lip until I tasted blood. It felt like heaven. Never had I wanted so badly to scream.  
  
"Choke me," I said.  
  
Hux's eyes went sharp and dark. "What?"  
  
"Otherwise I'll make too much noise . . ."  
  
I wrapped my legs around him as he swung me down onto a low bank of consoles and whipped the belt around my throat, nailing me into the glass as slick leather squeezed my arteries.  
  
"Tighter," I begged.  
  
Hux snapped the belt taut. Something clattered off the side of the displays at my back. We were in full view of the hangar bay, but we hardly cared. At least, I didn't. Black spots danced as the oxygen left my brain, a deep throbbing built below. I came fast and hard, well before I was ready. A blinding wave of solid euphoria rippled like an explosion, sending shockwaves that made every muscle of my body tense and release. Hux released the belt and covered my mouth so that I screamed into his hands. Possessed by the energy of it, I somehow managed to get my feet on the floor and push him back so that we toppled onto the floor and rolled underneath the fighter, with me on top.  
  
"Now, General," I took the belt from him. "You need a lesson in proper conduct."  
  
Hux watched as I tore off his tunic and bound his wrists to the scaffolding with the belt, cinching it tight.  
  
"How many regulations have you broken tonight?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, far too many."  
  
I slapped him. Hux closed his eyes and made a low sound of pleasure. "We're in plain sight. Anyone could walk in here. Is that what you want? Humiliation? Does that turn you on?"  
  
A lazy, catlike smile drifted over his lips. "You don't know the half of it."  
  
I rocked back, feeling him harden in me, his slick shaft driving deep, his moans vibrating in his lungs under my touch as I traced the lines of his pectorals, his fine chiseled abdomen, rotating my hips to engulf him. "Perhaps I'll leave you here like this for them to find. Naked, tied up. What then?"  
  
"Then -- mff -- I'd have you shot, darling."  
  
A shudder moved gloriously up my spine, tickling my scalp. "You'd execute me?"  
  
"If it came to that."  
  
"I'd make you shoot me yourself," I whispered, bending close. "During sex. Right as I lost control. Mm, I can just feel it . . . your cock and that laser blast, penetrating me at once . . ."  
  
"You awful slut," he purred. "Don't talk like that, or I won't last."  
  
I pinched him and smiled at his sudden intake of breath. He responded with a thrust that made me yelp in sudden pain, and strained forward against the belt, eyes metallic, catching me in a vicious kiss, biting down on my tender lip. A gush of hot liquid welled from me. I impaled myself on him, clasped his throat in both hands and squeezed, feeling him go hard as a blade, in me up to the hilt, and the world blurred as we struggled, bruising and scuffling in the dark until his cock rammed me sore and cum ran down his flanks in thick streams. He jerked back, flushed and exhausted. I tried to catch my breath, but something seemed to be wrapped around my throat.  
  
"Lieutenant Lockley, I presume."  
  
A figure approached through the halo of intoxication, setting my pulse pounding, vision smeared with lust and Hux still inside me. Was this real? It seemed almost too bizarre -- yet as I came to my senses, I realized that we were in the middle of the hangar bay, after all, and probably making more noise than we knew.  
  
Kylo Ren looked down at us with disdain. "General Hux. I underestimated you. I always assumed you were married to your work."  
  
"Shut up," Hux snapped. "This is none of your business."  
  
"You're making a mess of my ship. And this girl tried to kill me. Clearly it is my business."  
  
Panicked, I tried to undo the belt that bound Hux's hands, but Kylo Ren flung me aside.  
  
"You're distracted," Ren said to Hux. "I can't have that. This is a crucial time for the First Order. You're neglecting your duties."  
  
"I most certainly am not."  
  
"He really isn't," I said, but Kylo raised his arm and I felt the Force choke me again. I clawed feebly at my bruised windpipe.  
  
"You think this girl is loyal to you? She's not. She only wants power. I've seen her true intentions."  
  
Hux glanced at me. I met his eyes. There was longing in them. He looked so beautiful, so tired, with his fine pale body splayed against the pylon of the fighter like that. "You don't know her," he said.  
  
"Armitage," I choked as the pressure tightened.  
  
He struggled to free his hands from the belt. "Stop! Ren, I swear, if you hurt her . . ."  
  
Kylo Ren's lips twitched in disgust. "Oh, drop the act. You can't seriously expect me to believe that you care about some lowly lieutenant."  
  
"She's the new Admiral. I promoted her to command of the fleet. Get your facts straight," Hux spat. His eyes went to me again with a look that said yes, I am yours. The promotion is yours, the fleet is yours. It's all yours.  
  
"Thank you," I mouthed silently.  
  
"You kill her, you kill your best chance for dominance," Hux spoke quickly. "She's a military prodigy. Perfect record. Flawless tactical mind."  
  
"And you're in love, I see. I didn't know you had such weakness in you. I'm disappointed."  
  
"We're not in love."  
  
"Don't insult my intelligence. It's obvious."  
  
"It's just a fling." Hux stared at me with wild desperation.  
  
"No, it's not." Kylo Ren's fingers manipulated the air between us. "I can tell it's not. But let me show you the extent of her loyalty. Then maybe you'll reconsider."  
  
I felt the cool mesh of the Force wrap around me, lifting and turning me in its net. It had a pulse to it. A libido, an energy penetrating inwards, wanting to dominate, to control my heart rate, my breathing, the contractions of every muscle fiber, the response of every cell. An electric pressure ran down the midline of my torso, pressing an icy red heat that made me open and ache for it to enter me, even as I tried to resist it. I arched my back against the air, letting my arms dangle so that my fingers brushed the floor.  
  
"Ren," I breathed. "Don't do this."  
  
He ignored me. His will pushed ever inwards, and I breathed a long sigh as a thick mass of it stuffed into my dripping cleft, slow, appallingly slow, blooming in cold tendrils of flame that reached up through my heart to grip my mind in their hot clutches, drawing a shuddering release from my tattered nerves. Drops of sweat tickled as they fell. Something solid ran over my breasts, kneading them, and I opened my eyes to see Kylo Ren place me down on the floor, his gloved hands roaming my bare skin. Beyond, Hux stared, helpless.  
  
Well. It seemed that Kylo Ren just had to touch me. I ran my fingers through his thick curls, pulling him close to taste his lips, and felt him pull back abruptly in surprise. "Knew you couldn't resist," I sneered. "Men fall all over me like this. It's quite common. You're not so special after all."  
  
Ren's dark eyes flared. "You mock me at your peril. I have you under my control."  
  
"Do you? Physically, maybe. But mentally? Not a chance."  
  
"Stupid girl. Why aren't you afraid?" He seized my jaw in a painful grasp. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Must be hard to accept. That Hux can have something you can't have. I expect it's very humiliating for you."  
  
The lightsaber's red flare blinded me as it flashed out over my face. Hux shouted something, but the hum and crackle of the glowing blade drowned him out. Kylo Ren leveled it at my throat.  
  
"Go ahead!" I yelled. "Do it. You're just proving my point."  
  
He shook with rage. In his wide eyes, I glimpsed frustrated desire, and also something else -- something akin to amazement. He saw I wasn't afraid of him. He was impressed. In that moment of distraction, I went for the lightsaber. Ren grabbed my arms and forced me back. He was about to swing the blade when I saw a motion by the wing and heard the click of a blaster behind me.  
  
"Well, this is quite the scene."  
  
Phasma held us at gunpoint. Everything stood still as the lightsaber crackled in sudden silence.  
  
"Kill them both," said Kylo Ren.  
  
"And let you run the military yourself?" Phasma gave Ren a cool stare. "I don't think so."  
  
"Just Lockley, then."  
  
"No," Hux pleaded. "I need -- we need her, Phasma. She's invaluable to the fleet."  
  
"I'm sure," the Stormtrooper Captain said dryly, looking down her nose at Hux and me. "You two. What a disgusting display. Can't you keep your clothes on?"  
  
I snickered, but Phasma tossed me up against the pylon of the fighter and knocked the wind out of me. She pulled Ren aside. "What were you doing? We had an agreement."  
  
"You're right." Ren sheathed the lightsaber. "It won't matter soon anyway. Once the Resistance girl arrives, everything will change."  
  
"Glad you're thinking straight. Now get on with it. We can't afford to waste any more time with these idiots."  
  
They left. Dizzy, I crawled over to Hux and untied his wrists. "Resistance girl?"  
  
Hux shook his head and pulled his uniform back on with swift movements, then helped me to my feet. "Get up. Quickly."  
  
I grabbed my scattered clothes. He threw his overcoat over me and pulled me down the corridor.  
  
  
  
  



	6. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The destruction of the Supremacy ends in fisticuffs, explosions, and chaos. Why can't the First Order catch a break?

Vice Admiral Holdo's suicide tactic shocked us, but in retrospect, we should have seen it coming. It made sense. Even though the Resistance's strategy (if you can call it that) lacked organizing principles, the rebels were tenacious. They could do a lot with very little. And they were, ugh, brave.  
  
Not that that made it any easier to swallow. The _Supremacy_ cost several planetary economies to build -- we didn't expect some ragged band of insurgents to crack it like an egg. Hux went into an apoplectic fit over it and I don't blame him. First the Starkiller Base, and now this? The stress wears you down after awhile.  
  
I won't bore you with the technical details of the maneuvers. If you're interested, feel free to consult my publications on military strategy ref: databank Z-00328 - Z-00381, sec. 56, main archives. For a more informal analysis, here's my take.

Everyone should have been quicker on the draw. I should have taken command sooner. We should have blown the Resistance fleet apart when we had the chance.  
  
And Hux, my sweet. You should have just shot him.  
  
\--  
  
I rushed onto the observation deck in time to see Snoke's chambers go up in flames. No guards in sight. Through the doorway I glimpsed bodies and columns of smoke blurring the red walls, but otherwise the room was empty.  
  
"Armitage!" I shouted.  
  
Gone, and so was the girl. I cursed. We should never have let Kylo Ren bring her here. He had some kind of conspiracy with her and Snoke, who now lay on the floor in pieces. This whole Force business was the worst. It clunked like a wrench in the gears of the First Order's well-oiled machine, the one thing that kept us from real military dominance.  
  
And if this girl got away . . .  
  
Coughing dust and ash, I sprinted down the ramp to the lower level shuttle bays. I caught her just as she raced around the corner towards Snoke's escape craft.  
  
"Hold it!"

I fired a warning shot at her feet. The girl froze, shoulders heaving, crouched and ready to pounce.

"Let me go," she said.  
  
"What's your name? Who are you?"  
  
There was an iron focus about her that I almost admired. In another life, she might have made an excellent officer. But there was no time to think about that now. I leveled the blaster at her head.  
  
"Answer my question."  
  
"I'm Rey. And you _will_ let me go."  
  
I blinked with the sudden sense of having forgotten something.  
  
"No." I tried to shake off the confusion. "No, you're going to come with me."  
  
Rey's eyes narrowed. "Drop your weapon."  
  
The blaster clattered to the floor. A nightmare paralysis began to seize me; I had to act quickly. I lunged at her, pinning her shoulders, breaking the spell for a few precious seconds. She fought with a wiry strength that would have put most cadets to shame. We rolled punching and scratching up against the wall. I grabbed her hair and banged her head down but she sank her teeth into my arm, tearing skin and grappling at my eyes as I leaned my forearm against her throat.  
  
"What did Kylo Ren offer you?" I shouted. "I'll do you one better! Name your price."  
  
"I don't want anything!"  
  
She kicked upward into my ribs, sending a searing pain through my old wounds. I reeled back gasping and reached for the blaster as it slid away into a pile of debris. Rey scrabbled to her feet. I lashed out and grabbed her ankle, sending her sprawling across the hallway.  
  
"Everyone wants something." I pulled her down and grabbed her face in both hands to hold her still. "What do you want? What are you after?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand," she snarled.  
  
The Force pushed me back again. She was strong, impossibly strong, far stronger than Kylo Ren had been. I had no time. Gritting my teeth, I plunged my hand into the flaming wreckage to grab the blaster.  
  
The explosion almost took off my hand. I reeled backward. Sounds thumped with underwater muffling, and everything slid into a dim and fuzzy chaos. Rey vanished down the corridor in a blur of brown and gray. A strut crashed down and smashed a hole in the floor. Staggering to my feet, I stumbled into Hux as he dashed around the corner.  
  
"Where did she go?" he yelled.  
  
"Escape craft!"  
  
The shuttle bay was a blazing heap long before we got there. It was all we could do to get into our own shuttle and off the Supremacy into the relative safety of space.  
  
Inside the tight confines of the shuttle, drifting in the abrupt quiet of starlight, I got a better look at him. The General sat hunched in the seat, glaring out the viewport, exuding the kind of sheer hatred that marked only his worst moods. Dark smudges of soot coated his face. His uniform was ripped in several places and his throat badly bruised. He looked like hell.  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it." He batted my hand away. "Don't touch me."  
  
I sighed. "We're screwed, aren't we."  
  
Hux buried his face in his hands. "I had him, Lockley. I had Ren right there at my feet. A simple blaster bolt would have done it."

I felt a prick of irritation. Why hadn't he done it, then? It was tempting to pile on, but it would have served no purpose. He was already miserable enough, and for once I was too tired to fight.

I massaged the bridge of my nose. "This Force nonsense. We weren't trained for this. It's not fair."

"Fair." Hux laughed bitterly. "Nothing's ever been fair."

He leaned back, letting his head rest against the seat, and closed his eyes. The blue glow of the cockpit mingled with the light of stars to cast a marble pallor over his face. As he lay there, still as a statue, I used the sleeve of my tunic to wipe some of the soot from his skin.

"Stop it," he said. "That's not necessary."

"You're hurt, Armitage."

"I've thrown away our best chance. I might as well be dead."

"Don't say that."

"Why do _you_ care? Go with Ren. He's got the upper hand now."

I snorted. "Ren's nothing compared to you. Don't be ridiculous."

"All this work and no reward." The General opened his eyes and looked aside at me. "What's the point?"

"You know the point. Order. Pursuit of the ideal. Fixing this galaxy and creating something better." I put a hand through his hair, untangling the knots. "That's an idea worth dying for. Ren's a child; he only thinks of himself. He's nothing. Don't let him demoralize you."

Hux sighed. "You believe in it too, don't you. The First Order."

"Yes, of course."

"But _they_ don't. The enlisted men. Even the officers. They're only in it because we forced them. Or they're afraid."

It was true. Coming up through the academy, I'd met countless cadets like that -- bumbling through as best they could, one eye over the shoulder, hopelessly mediocre, indoctrinated into a state of numb obedience. None of them had the real spark. How I'd wished, back then, to meet a man like this.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "Only the end result matters."

"We won't get another chance. He'll kill us first."

"Then I'll die by your side."

The General attempted a smirk, but he looked troubled. "Loyalty to the cause?"

"Always."

"But it's not just that."

I hesitated. No, it wasn't just that. It was more, far more. I marveled at him, so young and yet so hard, wonderfully arrogant, cruel, perfect. He reminded me of clean cold snow, pine, ozone; a beam that scourged the sky. The echoes of devastation. The ghastly, beautiful, total annihilation of those eyes. I wanted him always like that, deep in the thrill of the rut, drunk on pure violence, alive in the rapine fury of his most hellish desires. I wanted him to look at me like that. And I didn't want to lose him. Bit by bit, I was beginning to realize that Kylo Ren was right: this was no fling. This was something else.

Hux noted my silence. He took my hand and wove his fingers through mine, squeezing till I felt my knuckles crack.

"I know," he murmured. "You needn't say it."

 

 

 


	7. Foxhunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lockley and Hux hunt crystal foxes on Crait.

After the Battle of Crait, Hux became even more depressed. I found him in the command tent sitting behind a makeshift desk overflowing with clutter, bags under his eyes, hair unkempt and collar open in a manner most unbefitting a First Order officer.  
  
He gave me a thousand-yard stare when I walked in. "What is it? I'm busy."  
  
"Look at this mess. What's become of you?" I swept the clutter off the desk onto the ground. "Where's your self-respect?"  
  
"That's no way to talk to your General. Apologize immediately."  
  
"I'm Admiral now. I can talk to you however I like."  
  
"Hmm." He looked me up and down. "That's true, isn't it."  
  
"The Hux I know wouldn't stand for such disorder. He'd die before he relinquished his discipline. Whatever this is -- it's a disgrace." I went around the desk and grabbed him by the open collar, yanking him to his feet. "You're pathetic! Stand up straight. You've got an army to command."  
  
This minor abuse did cheer him up a little, but not enough. He'd clearly not slept in days. A wobble shook him, and he put a hand on the desk to steady himself.  
  
An idea occurred to me. "I know what will make you feel better. How about a hunt?"  
  
"A hunt?"  
  
"This planet is crawling with crystal foxes. Vulptices. You have the equipment, don't you? In a drawer somewhere?"  
  
"I could be persuaded . . ."  
  
"Traditional style. All the trappings."  
  
"Traditional." He cocked an eyebrow. "That means you wear the bridle, I think."  
  
"Very funny."  
  
"I'm not joking. Now stop distracting me so I can finish this work. We'll go at dawn."  
  
"I look forward to it," I said.  
  
This hunt ended up being one of those rumors that got out into the ranks and became a legend. People think it's just a dirty story concocted by bored sergeants with too much time on their hands. Well. I'll give you the facts, and you can judge for yourself.  
  
Morning dawned over the salt flats with a chill that pierced straight through flesh into the bone. I wore a leather harness and nothing else. My teeth chattered against the bit as Hux stepped out of the transport, a slim and supernatural vision in jerkin and riding boots, dexterous with the riding crop he swung in one elegantly gloved hand. He tightened the straps so that they dug into my skin. Winding the leashes around his fist, he stood back to admire his handiwork.  
  
"Not bad. Perhaps I should ride you now and save myself the walk."  
  
I tried to turn my head, but he snapped back on the reins so that the leather strap of the collar dug into my larynx.  
  
"Behave yourself," he warned. "You promised me a vulptex. Now find it!"  
  
The whipcrack warmed my frigid skin. Hux set a brisk pace. He gave me a taste of the sting whenever I slowed, which I did often, on purpose, as we went over the white sheets of crystal, tracking delicate footprints around outcroppings of rock, kicking up red sand until it coated my skin in a fine sheen and the sun lounged high in the blue. I caught a glimpse of a creature vanishing in the piles stones and we chased it into the cool darkness of a cavern, lunging at it until we had it chirping in fear against the rock. When we finally put the bolt through its skull and shattered its brains in a tinkle of glassy chimes, the General couldn't take it anymore and tied me up to the stalagmites beside the fox's corpse, pacing around me with the riding crop's tip tracing along my naked flesh, making lines in the sweat and the dust.  
  
"Down, Admiral."  
  
I was more than willing to comply. He threw off his jacket and unbuckled his belt quickly, sighing in relief as the pressure lifted from his groin and, seeing me look up, pressed a heel on my back and forced my nose into the sand.  
  
"No. You don't get that yet." He pointed the crop at his boots. "Clean them."

He watched while I licked the sun-warmed leather, the salt dust tart and burning in my throat.  
  
"Did they teach you that at the academy?" He slid the riding crop's cool leather tip between my legs so that I felt it press inside at a precisely chosen spot, drawing a gasp of pleasure from me and stroking himself as he watched me squirm under his touch.  
  
"Obliterate me," I begged. "Just do it. Please."  
  
"That's the idea." He smiled, manipulating the crop with horrible exactness. "You'll go out like Hosnian Prime. But first, you'll come for me. Precisely when I want. At my command. Unless you think you have the self-control to resist . . ."  
  
He could have done anything; I was completely under his power and he knew it. I felt him twist the crop against my clit, pulling it like a tongue. My fingers dug into the dust.  
  
"Now," he whispered. "Let's see who has the better discipline."  
  
He gripped my flanks and took me from behind, yanking my hair back until my neck ached from the strain, his fingers massaging me at the same time. A cyclone of sensations flooded my consciousness. I slid back and heard him grunt with pleasure at the impact. This was a battle I wanted to win. Rotating to face him, I pushed him down in the dirt and lifted free, licking along his shaft so that he gasped at the sensation, pulsing, ready to burst. But he rolled away and pulled me up by the straps, hooking the harness against a rock and strapping the metal bit between my teeth, burying his face in my cunt and plunging his tongue into me. At that point, I had little choice but to surrender. When I was spent and blinded, he dragged me outside and drilled me into the red dirt, both of us face down and his arm around my throat, using me up until he'd pumped himself dry and we both lay exhausted in the sun, sweat pooling beneath us and the tang of salt still ringing on our lips.  
  
"We should go back," I said, once I got my breath back.  
  
"Certainly not." Hux trailed a finger along the curve of my waist. "I don't want this ever to end."  
  
I looked up into the sky. "It's so frustrating."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"We should be ruling the galaxy by now. Do you think we'll have our revenge?"  
  
"Undoubtedly. But they say the best revenge is living one's best life."  
  
"Not causing the most death?" I smacked him. "Don't go soft on me, Armitage. We've got vermin to exterminate."  
  
"Marvelous. Have my children, won't you?"  
  
I grinned. "Don't you want to check my genetic profile first?"  
  
"Already done."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I did it the day we met. I'm insulted you'd think otherwise. What do you take me for?"  
  
"Yes," I laughed. "You're absolutely right."


	8. Order and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter with Kylo Ren gets out of hand, and Lockley sees the problem.

"All clear."  
  
"Check the stockrooms." I made a note with the stylus and moved to the next sector of the map. "Identify and confiscate any surplus ordnance. We'll make a clean sweep."  
  
"Yes, Admiral."  
  
The base lay in eerie quiet. After the battle, there wasn't much left to see. The Resistance had escaped with most of the navigational data. Rusty consoles and long-abandoned trunks lined the echoing cavern, inert and useless. The stockrooms beyond had not been used in years. A fine layer of dust coated everything.  
  
I clipped the stylus to the tablet and walked towards the control room. The fleet would be leaving soon. Kylo Ren had ordered a final search of the base, against Hux's advice. I'd offered to personally oversee the process. Not because I wanted to do it, but because I wanted it done. Fast. We couldn't afford to lose more time here on Crait. We had work to do.  
  
So when Kylo Ren accosted me in the control room, I was annoyed, to say the least.  
  
"Admiral." He rose from the crate where he sat brooding. "Tell me about the search. How's it going?"  
  
"Fine," I said. "If you'd let me do it."  
  
"Have you found evidence of their whereabouts?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
"Then you're not trying."  
  
I breathed out slowly through my nostrils. "Are you questioning my competence?"  
  
Ren approached and stared down at me. "Yes. I'm questioning your competence. That's exactly what I'm doing."  
  
He stood uncomfortably close.

"Is it a problem?"  
  
"No, Supreme Leader," I muttered.  
  
"I didn't hear you."  
  
"NO, SUPREME LEADER!"  
  
I shouted with mock-ballistic sarcasm, right into his face. He threw me back against the wall. I crumpled to the floor, laughing bitterly as I wiped the blood from my lips.  
  
"I see what you're doing." He watched me with contempt. "You like to provoke. You enjoy the punishment. "  
  
I flashed a red grin. "Don't you?"  
  
"Interesting game you're playing. You've got Hux whipped in every possible sense. And you think you can seduce me. Well, you can't. You're not my type."  
  
"Who is? Phasma?"  
  
"No. There's someone else."  
  
I remembered another pair of dark eyes, flashing as she fought through the wreckage of the _Supremacy_. Yes, of course. Kylo Ren would naturally be fascinated with a Force user stronger than himself. "The girl," I said. "Rey."  
  
A flame curled in his eyes, dangerous and dark.  
  
"I see the attraction," I said. "But look. You're the Supreme Leader of the First Order, and even you couldn't turn her. It's not going to work out."  
  
"She doesn't understand yet." Kylo Ren glanced aside. His voice rolled in a low monotone that cloaked something like pain, or loneliness. I couldn't read him. Ren had always been a mystery to me. I knew little of his background, except that he himself was some kind of bastard child of the rebellion that we fought. I didn't like that. Not one bit. If the First Order had a weak spot, it lay in Ren's tormented mind, and one day someone like Rey would find a way to exploit it.

"She's not going to crack, Ren."

"She will. Eventually. She has to."  
  
"What if she turns you instead?"  
  
"That won't happen."  
  
"You're risking the entire operation for this girl. Don't let her cloud your judgment."  
  
Ren snorted. "That's rich, coming from you. I suppose your marathon of debauchery with General Hux leaves you clear-headed?"  
  
"Actually, it does." I stepped towards him. "I can show you."  
  
"No."  
  
"You need to be at your full potential. This energy is eating you up. Release it. I can take it."  
  
"Enough with your sexual machinations. I'm not impressed."  
  
"What machinations? I want the continued supremacy of First Order. Your satisfaction is in my best interests. Say you do get Rey. What then? I can whip you into shape for her. Think of me as -- practice."  
  
That got his attention. The way he stared made me feel almost sick with the thrill of what might happen if I pushed him. This was a nasty gambit, to be sure. But if I could take Ren's attention off Rey, even temporarily, the First Order would stand a better chance. And maybe I'd get a chance to dethrone him.  
  
"I could never overpower you." I lowered my voice to a confidential murmur and came closer, as if sharing a secret. "What do you have to fear? You may as well enjoy yourself. We all serve you now."  
  
"Are you attracted to me?"  
  
"Of course," I lied. "You've got such -- energy. Such power. What red-blooded girl wouldn't be seduced by that? I'm only human."  
  
I could see him wavering. Perhaps he knew I wasn't being fully honest, but at the same time, he wanted to believe it. Ego is a potent force. Ren was not immune to flattery. Quite the contrary.  
  
"So you did enjoy it, then." He put a tentative hand against my cheek, testing the feel of it. "Last time."  
  
I decided to play coy. "I couldn't admit it. Not even to myself. But it's true." I gazed up at him with wide eyes. "I want you."  
  
"I'd rather you feared me."  
  
He had drawn close by now. Our bodies almost touched; his face was inches from mine.  
  
"Then make me fear you," I whispered.  
  
The monitor missed my head by inches, crashing into the wall behind me with a shatter of sparks that burst the wiring into flame. I threw my hands up with a shout.  
  
"No more games," he said softly. "You'll get what you deserve."  
  
Ren reached into the air and flung the overhead lights down. Splinters of glass stung my scalp. A ring of fire surrounded us now; a blast of dry oven-heat washed over me. I smelled burnt hair. An invisible hand pressed me back, slowly but firmly. I reclined, feeling the floor hot against my shoulders, and he prowled over me on his hands and knees, not once breaking eye contact.  
  
He was so different. With Hux it was harmless theatrics, but Ren was quiet. Too quiet. A quivering intensity in every motion, a venomous anger whose depth seemed to be bottomless. Had I underestimated him? There was something in Ren that I didn't understand, couldn't understand. As I lay there on the floor among the fire, heart pounding, I felt suddenly unsure of myself.  
  
"You and Hux share the same blindness," he said. "You can't recognize true power. You want military might, influence, order. But that's nothing. True power has a different source."  
  
A black-gloved hand traced the space just above my temple, running down to my lips. The muscles of my face tensed in ice.  
  
"You see."  
  
I gulped, nodded.  
  
"I wish I could make you understand. But you can't. It's not in your nature." The delicate manipulations fondled my neurons; I felt myself liquifying.

For a lover of order and discipline, it was worse than torture. I felt a rush of pure and undiluted fear. The Force, this power that allowed Kylo Ren to bend physical reality -- it horrified me to my core. It obeyed no rules. It was undefined, chaotic. And that girl, Rey -- if she could manipulate reality like this -- what hope did we have, what hope for the First Order? What hope for the world we wanted to build? What hope for Hux, or myself?

Too late, I saw the seriousness of the threat. We were doomed if we let Ren have his way. I needed to contact Armitage immediately. No more half-measures.

"Ren," I coughed. "We'd better stop. You don't really want this."  
  
"No." He moved his hand, cupping it above my head. "I think I do. Now you really are afraid."

God help me, I thought. I've made a huge mistake.

"I'm not afraid of you."  
  
"Not of me. Of yourself. These feelings. You're afraid of losing control." The ghost of a smile twitched at his lips. "You're afraid you'll like it."  
  
He wasn't wrong. I writhed against his invisible bonds.  
  
"This is better than I thought." Ren was concentrating now, breathing faster, lips parted. "Hux never had you like this."  
  
"Ren -- "  
  
But his mouth crushed against mine, pulling the breath from my lungs.


	9. Occupational Hazards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More bad news.

Kylo Ren was immune to my charms. He couldn't be manipulated -- at least, not through any means I possessed. I found this out the hard way.  
  
Our meeting on Crait wasn't sex in the conventional sense. It went beyond that. Each touch had a psychic counterpart. The action took place in the subconscious. Walls broke, chaos flooded in. I began to feel what he felt.  
  
Ren was strong, but he didn't know it. He had a vast loneliness that could never be cured, because the source of it lay in the past. He'd lost something that he'd never find again. He certainly didn't find it in me. The emptiness filled him with rage.  
  
This was all more than I cared to know. My idea of a good romp is more sport-like. But with Ren it was serious business. The intimacy unsettled me, and he knew it.  
  
"You're so afraid to let go. This isn't pleasant for you at all, is it."  
  
He made a subtle motion and an electric vise clamped down, pulling my tender areas with invisible force. "It is and it isn't."  
  
"You think you enjoy pain. But you're wrong. You don't know pain." He stroked as he talked. My scalp swam with brain-freeze as I tried to keep him out of my head. "Real pain isn't a bruise or a cut, or the sting of a whip. Real pain is an emotion. A feeling of powerlessness."  
  
"I know what that's like."  
  
"No you don't. You've never felt it." Ren adjusted his touch. "Not like I have. But you're going to. Then you'll see how much it hurts."  
  
Mentally, I resisted. He probed harder. I gritted my teeth, feeling the heat build in me and pushing it down, wrestling him as the energy escalated.  
  
"Resisting will make it worse," he said. "Just so you know."  
  
My field of vision narrowed into a blood-red tunnel where everything pulsed with uncanny movement. Sweat stung my eyes.   
  
"Why are you fighting it?"  
  
I clawed at the floor. "Principles . . ."  
  
Something about it felt so dirty. His emotion, his lack of self-control, his indulgence of every mood. Ghastly. I'd need a nice cold military shower after this.  
  
The next few seconds pounded into oblivion. My mind almost collapsed under the tide. It went on for too long. His touch was a pleasure, yes. But not the giddy euphoria I felt with Hux. Ren's pleasure was tainted with his foul mood, the deep glumness of hurt and things felt too deeply. Far away I saw him staring, his expression raw. A thinly-veiled lust welled in his eyes, even as he tried hide it.   
  
He crushed me to him with a frantic need to possess, and I went for it.  
  
The rest, as they say, is history.  
  
\---  
  
I was on my way to Hux's office when Phasma pulled me aside.   
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Keep your voice down."  
  
The fleet had departed from Crait, and I didn't have time for office politics. I'd spent the entire day feeling disgusted. Exhausted. Distracted. Even now, I was still trying to regain power over my nervous system after that, ahem, business with Kylo Ren.

He'd established a subliminal link in my brain that gave him remote control over my reflexes. Remote arousal via Force. This is not as fun as it sounds. When you're commanding a fleet of deadly warships, the last thing you want is to be fighting off orgasms.

Worse, the departure had been a catastrophe. I didn't realize the ordnance had been rigged to detonate until the ship left the planet's surface. By then, it was too late to land. I managed to evacuate the crew and some of the more portable instruments. But I had to sacrifice the transport. It exploded somewhere in the upper atmosphere, taking down several million credits-worth of equipment -- along with my perfect record.  
  
And now I had to deal with this.  
  
Phasma cast a quick glance around the hallway to make sure we were alone. "Did you and Kylo Ren -- "  
  
"What?" I sputtered. "Of course not!"  
  
"Lockley." She lowered her voice. "You didn't try to seduce him, did you?"  
  
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. So she did know. What a disaster. "Someone saw that?"  
  
"Officers don't get the luxury of private lives. You've no one to blame but yourself."  
  
Correct, as usual. "A mistake. It won't happen again."  
  
"Hux knows." Phasma removed her helmet and faced me, eye to eye. "He's planning to court-martial you or worse. I suggest you get off the ship before things get ugly. Take a shuttle. I'll cover for you."  
  
No. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. "You're not serious."  
  
"We've got ten minutes."  
  
"That's desertion," I protested. "You know I can't do that."  
  
"Then you'll be executed. Your choice."  
  
Phasma's words drifted in midair, meaningless. A flush of horror crept over me as I stood there watching my career implode before my eyes. And oh God, Armitage, no, no...I clenced my hands, fingernails cut into my palms.  
  
"Don't be so obstinate," said Phasma. "I'm trying to help you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you're a good officer. One of the best the First Order has seen -- even if you are a sociopath and power-hungry as they come. Consider it a professional courtesy."  
  
"What did Hux say, exactly?"  
  
"He's not pleased. This business with Ren, the lost transport? It doesn't look good. Don't fool yourself. He won't spare you."   
  
Footsteps echoed along the corridor. Phasma pulled me further into the hall.  
  
"Now or never." She extended a hand.  
  
Well, dear reader. Being a slave to the rules and a glutton for punishment, you can guess what choice I made.


	10. Tribunal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never break a Space Nazi's heart.

"All rise."  
  
The tribunal assembled in the main hangar bay. I stood on a raised platform, hands cuffed behind my back. A jury of high command officials sat below and to my left, a panel of uniform gray. Beyond, the rank and file filled the cavernous space. Officers at parade attention lined up in black, fading into row upon row of stormtroopers glowing white against scarlet banners that draped the distant walls.  
  
An impressive sight. A feast for the eyes.  
  
_Well, Armitage,_ I thought. _You haven't lost your touch._  
  
He stood on the upper level a little distance away, at a low podium, stunning in his full regalia, staring through me, cold as death. Perfect. I tried not to fall off the platform.  
  
"Let the record show that Admiral Lockley has been delinquent of her duties as First Order Admiral and Commander of the Fleet," Hux began. "She is hereby charged with treason, insubordination, disorderly conduct, public indecency, degenerate behavior, and endangering the mission of the First Order at the highest level. Admiral Lockley, how do you plead?"  
  
"Armitage -- "  
  
"You will address me by my proper rank or face summary execution. This is your first and only warning."  
  
His voice, ringing in the open space of the hangar bay, brought on a shiver that shook me all the way down to my fingertips.  
  
"General," I corrected myself.  
  
"How do you plead?"  
  
I looked out over the assembled troops. How I'd longed to see them from this elevated angle, in a position of command. But it wasn't to be.  
  
"Guilty," I said.  
  
A subtle movement rippled over the crowd. The high command officials made some notes.  
  
"You admit the veracity of the charges?"  
  
"I admit that I acted in what I deemed to be the First Order's best interests. I made mistakes. But I did act, yes. I dared to act rather than sit still like a coward while traitors run my beloved Order into the dust. If that makes me guilty, so be it."  
  
The words dropped into silence.  
  
"Let the record show that Admiral Lockley admits the charges," Hux said quietly. "Proceed."  
  
The thin air between us seemed to crackle with current. His face was a pale mask, but something flared in his eyes. Pain, maybe. Admiration. Obligation. Bloodlust. We didn't have to speak to understand.  
  
_Abigail, why?_  
  
_You know why._  
  
"Noted and logged."  
  
"Are you aware of the penalty for these crimes, Admiral?"  
  
"I am aware, General."  
  
_Don't force my hand._  
  
_No pity, Armitage. Only Order._  
  
"Let the record show." Hux's voice caught in his throat. He coughed and broke eye contact, looking out instead into the hangar bay. "Let the record show that Admiral Lockley is aware of the punishment to be meted out upon her in accordance with First Order regulations, Chapter III, Section 34, Paragraph 107."  
  
He paused, gathering his breath.  
  
"The sentence shall be death by firing squad, in one hour, at a location to be determined by high command. Have you anything to say in your defense, Admiral?"  
  
_Say something. Anything._  
  
_I'd rather die than beg._  
  
"No." I leveled my chin. "Furthermore, I exercise my prerogative under Section 38 and respectfully request that the execution be carried out here, right now."  
  
The color drained from Hux's face. I smiled in satisfaction. Below, high command officials scrolled through their volumes, frowning, fidgeting.  
  
"Can she do that?"  
  
"It would appear to be part of the regulations..."  
  
"...highly irregular..."  
  
"...paragraph here..."  
  
"This delay is unacceptable," I shouted. "I won't have the fleet's operations interrupted for a full hour while we dither over a single life."  
  
I stepped forward and dropped to my knees. Hux's eyes went blank.  
  
"Return to your position." His voice was brittle.  
  
"Do it." I bent my head forward. "Execute me, General. Do what's required."  
  
Hux drew the blaster from his overcoat.  
  
_How far will you take this?_  
  
_As far as you'll go._  
  
"You do not command this tribunal, Admiral. Don't overstep your authority."  
  
"I refer the court to the relevant regulation." I glanced back over my shoulder to the jury panel. "The guilty party can demand immediate execution of the sentence. The manual is quite clear on this point."  
  
"It's equally clear that in such cases, the commanding officer shall have power of refusal." Hux returned an icy smile. "Section 51. Or have you forgotten your training?"  
  
He was right. The lines appeared in my memory, clear as the day I read them. But I wasn't ready to drop this deadly game of chicken; not until I had thoroughly tested his limits.  
  
"Regardless," I said. "The delay is inefficient. It serves no purpose."  
  
"Command determines purpose." Hux pressed the cold muzzle of the blaster against my forehead. "Obedience ensures order. Surely you know your basic principles."  
  
"Perhaps. But the First Order takes precedence over any one officer."  
  
"Quite so. I can't allow one officer to undermine the structure of command."  
  
"A good commander follows his own rules."  
  
"A good officer obeys her commander."  
  
"But a great officer . . ."  
  
"Desist, Admiral."  
  
I shot him a mischievous grin. "Is that an order, sir?"  
  
_You shameless flirt._

_You like it, don't you.  
_

"Yes." Hux's voice dripped delicious venom. "That's an _order_ , Admiral Lockley."  
  
He grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled me to my feet, drawing the blaster over my temple down the back of my neck and pressing it into my spinal cord until I shuddered in happiness.  
  
"One hour." A guard detail stepped onto the platform, and Hux flung me into their arms. "Escort the ex-Admiral to Cell Block D for deprogramming. Make it hurt."  
  
I struggled, but a jolt of electricity from their batons dropped me to the floor. The tramp of footsteps filled the empty space. I limped between the guards through the columns of troops, without looking back. But I knew his eyes were on me.  
  
\---  
  
The chamber in Cell Block D had no chronometer, no windows, and no furniture except for a bare metal bench molded into the wall. I sat on this bench, waiting. I counted the minutes in my head. My internal clock is very accurate. Exactly forty-seven minutes and twenty-two seconds elapsed before the door hissed open.  
  
"I ought to kill you right now."

"General -- "  
  
"How could you _do_ it?" he shouted. "To me? To us? To the First Order? How?"  
  
His voice choked with hate. He stood there seething, face livid, fists clenched at his sides. The anger was real, and I admired it. He was most beautiful when he was furious.

"You're early," I sneered. "The execution's not for twelve minutes."  
  
The General checked the time.  
  
"And nine seconds," I added. "To be precise."  
  
"Very exact," Hux sniffed. "But this has gone far enough."  
  
"You're the one who called the tribunal. What did you expect?"  
  
"An explanation!" he spat. "Your carelessness cost us a troop transport. Do you think you can get away with everything?"  
  
"This isn't about the transport at all," I retorted. "This is your own spite and petty jealousy getting the better of you. You didn't have to arrest me."

He struck me across the face. I leapt to my feet, but he grabbed me and drew me close in his arms, his grip like steel.  
  
"You didn't have to betray me." He quivered with a finely-tempered rage, looking as if he might tear me to shreds. "It's the last mistake you'll ever make."  
  
I sighed. Underneath the excitement, a deep ache swelled in my chest. I saw how it all must seem to him. Kylo Ren, a nothing, not even militarily trained and now stealing his power, his hopes, his possible soulmate. Whatever annoyance I felt, I had to set the record straight.  
  
"Armitage, believe me." I looked up at him. "I didn't mean it to go like that. I miscalculated."  
  
"Oh, really."  
  
"I only meant to distract Ren. But I failed. You know how strong he is with that -- that _thing_." I shook my head in revulsion. "The Force. It's chaos incarnate. It has to be stopped. You have to kill him by any means necessary. I was on my way to warn you. I'd never betray the First Order, don't you know that?"  
  
A pale shadow drifted over Hux's face. "You pled guilty to treason. You're a traitor."  
  
"Please -- "  
  
"No." His voice went deadly quiet. "No, Abigail. No more words."  
  
The kiss was hard, deep, and final. It left my head spinning. Then he was gone, and the door hissed shut behind him.  
  
\---  
  
At precisely the one hour mark, the door opened again. A tall silhouette blocked the light from the hallway.  
  
"It's time."  
  
I looked up. I knew that voice. "Phasma?"  
  
She prodded me with the blaster rifle and marched me into the hall. Instead of turning left as I expected, Phasma swerved right.  
  
"We're not going to the hangar bay?"  
  
"The execution has been changed to a private venue."  
  
I licked my lips nervously. "Did Hux send you?"  
  
She didn't reply. We marched down the corridor. The bowels of the ship lay deserted. All the troops must still be assembled in the hangar. As we approached the auxiliary shuttle bay, my heart began to race.  
  
An escape pod was there, standing at the ready with a trajectory plotted to an isolated world in a backwater system outside Crait. Phasma shoved me unceremoniously into the cockpit.  
  
"Goodbye, Admiral. I doubt we'll see each other again."  
  
"Hold on." I grabbed her arm. "Awhile back, you wanted me dead. Now you're saving my life. Why?"  
  
"I have my orders."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And," said Phasma, pulling the hatch shut, "I was on the transport crew you rescued. Didn't you check the records?"  
  
I watched her as she turned and walked off into the docking bays.  
  
"Phasma!"  
  
"What!"  
  
"Thanks!" I shouted. "And tell Hux he owes me a private execution! One on one this time. No mercy!"

"Freaks," Phasma muttered, and disappeared into the corridor.  
  
\---  
  
I'm writing this memoir from Jalara, a desolate chunk of rock in the Outer Rim Territories that sits just far enough from Crait to get no attention whatsoever. The terrain is mostly steppe and taiga, windy and cold. There's a smuggler's outpost at the salt inland sea. Ships occasionally land and anonymous pirates trade contraband right out in the open. No one cares what people do here. It might be an excellent world for someone with the right tastes, or rather the wrong tastes. A perfect place for a honeymoon.  
  
This manuscript is going out with the next ship. I paid a minor fee to have it distributed through certain channels in the First Order ranks. Consider it a tease. A provocation. A bit of fluff and a bit of trash for bored recruits. I'm sure the story will be suppressed by high command and buried in the archives forever. I'd expect no less. But I'm going to have my fun. As for you, General -- you know where to find me.  
  
You know I'll be back.

  
  
  
*** END OF VOLUME I ***

 

\---

  
  
** Official MEMO from General Hux **  
  
It has come to my attention that The Memoirs of Admiral Lockley are circulating among the ranks. This work is MENDACIOUS, DEGENERATE, and of NO REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER, filled with LIES and CORRUPTION, and a DISGRACE to the First Order and its loyal servants. All readers are advised to report to a re-education center for liquidation. I will be personally confiscating all copies.  
  
Certain undesirables believe that Lockley's execution was faked and that she escaped to [REDACTED] with the assistance of [REDACTED]. Anyone promoting this ridiculous conspiracy theory will be shot. Lockley is a traitor, enemy of the First Order, and ex-person under Code 701 P. b-902. Her records have been purged. She no longer exists.

Furthermore, all inquiries about my personal whereabouts during [REDACTED] are forbidden on pain of death. You have been warned.  
  
Order above all.  
  
Approved [TIMESTAMP REDACTED]  
Gen. Hux  
Commander of the Fleet and Grand Marshal  
First Order Forces

***


End file.
